Minister retired on Thursday (Oct 19); This will be the president’s 4th nomination since the beginning of his 3rd term
The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has one more vacancy in the STJ (Superior Federal Court) to fill after the retirement of minister Laurita Vaz, on Thursday (19.Oct.2023). This will be the PT member’s 4th nomination to the Court since assuming his 3rd term.
This Wednesday (Oct 25), the 3 names nominated by Lula in 2023 were heard at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) and in the Senate plenary: Daniela Teixeira, José Afrânio Vilela and Teodoro Silva Santos.
A vacancy left by Laurita will be filled by a name from the Public Ministry –since the retired minister came from the MPF and the requirement is that 1/3 of the STJ be made up of lawyers and members of the Federal, State, Federal District and Territory Public Prosecutor’s Offices.
The process establishes that candidates go through an internal selection and voting at the STJ itself. The Court is responsible for preparing a triple list of nominees.
To enter a name, Lula will need to follow the list drawn up by the court itself. After being nominated by the President of the Republic, the name is examined before being sworn in.
The STJ is made up of at least 33 ministers, aged 35 to 60. Court seats are divided as follows:
- 1/3 among judges of the Federal Regional Courts;
- 1/3 among judges of the Courts of Justice, indicated in a triple list prepared by the STJ itself; It is
- 1/3 (in equal parts) between lawyers and members of the Federal, State, Federal District and Territory Public Ministries, alternately.
With Laurita’s departure, the court would have one less woman, however, with the approval of Daniela Teixeira this 4th (Oct 25) in the Senate, the composition in the STJ remains the same: 6 women (18.75%) and 26 men (81.25%), in total.
Daniela, Afrânio and Teodoro were appointed by Lula to fill the vacancies of former ministers Paulo de Tarso Vieira Sanseverino, who died in April this year, and Felix Fischer and Jorge Mussi, who retired in 2022.
In addition to being nominated for Laurita’s position, the head of the Executive will still have 2 more names to nominate to the court until 2026. Following Laurita, Assusete Magalhães (on January 18, 2024) and Antônio Saldanha Palheiro (April 24) retire 2026).
WHO IS LAURITA VAZ
Laurita spent 22 years at the 2nd most important Court in the country. She turned 75 on Saturday (Oct 21), reaching the constitutional age limit for the position.
Laurita was appointed to the position by Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in June 2001. Since then, she has collected important titles, such as president of the 5th Panel of the STJ, from 2004 to 2006, and president of the 3rd Section of the Court, from 2009 to 2011. She was also an effective member of the CJF (Federal Justice Council) from 2009 to 2011.
The judge was the 1st woman to assume the presidency of the Superior Court of Justice, from 2016 to 2018. She was also the 1st woman from the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) to be part of the Court.
Before assuming her seat at the STJ, Laurita Vaz had a career as a prosecutor from 1978 to 2000, when she assumed the position of deputy attorney general of the Republic.
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